I would have been very curious to see what was going on in the Islamic State. I find religious extremism really bizarre, but also fascinating.

But, I think it was mainly fear that prevented me going over there. I’ve seen too much about journalists being taken hostage and being beheaded, so I steered clear of that one.

Louis Theroux has covered all walks of obscure and contentious forms of lifestyle – from the lives of meth addicts and backyard wrestling performers all the way to Neo-Nazi’s, gangsters and the infamous god-fearing-LGBTQ-hating Westbury Baptist Church. But for him to say that even he wouldn’t go near the terrorist group Daesh (ISIS) says a lot.

Louis Theroux recently returned to our screens with three documentaries in the series Dark States.

BBC

In the first episode, Heroin Town, the popular broadcaster and documentary maker examines America’s love affair with prescription painkillers.

Following a crackdown on over-prescription, two million Americans who are addicted to high-strength painkillers are having to go elsewhere to satisfy their dependency.

Many have chosen to turn to a stronger and cheaper drug which is also easier to get hold of: heroin.

For the first time in America in two decades, life expectancy is declining and many believe this is due to more and more people becoming addicted to heroin.

BBC

The drug now claims more lives in America than either gun crime or car accidents and police admit the arrests they make just aren’t having an impact.

Episode two, Heroin Town, sees Louis travel to Huntington in West Virginia to visit an Appalachian community which is being devastated by widespread heroin use.

In the final episode, Sex Trafficking Houston, Louis takes an in-depth look into what is considered to be one of the largest hubs for human trafficking in North America.

Interviewing women working in the city’s sex industry, Louis examines the relationship they have with pimps.